Tempus vs Mode Circle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tempus
Calculate delay times and sample re-pitch amounts with a tap-tempo metronome. Preview delay sounds and determine BPM changes for your DAW. This tool helps musicians fine-tune audio effects.
- Tap-tempo metronome
- Specify beat count for metronome
- View and preview delay times
- Calculate sample re-pitch amounts
- Calculate BPM changes
- Supports Re-Pitch Warp modes
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Tempus is a tool for calculating Delay Times and sample Re-Pitch amounts / BPMs! - Tap-tempo Metronome with the ability to specify the # of beats - View Delay Times & preview what each Delay sounds like - Calculate sample Re-Pitch amounts / BPMs when changing the BPM in your DAW & using Re-Pitch Warp modes
Mode Circle
Explore all 12x7 diatonic scales interactively. This app displays and plays selected scales, offering various arrangements and views based on scale tones, fundamentals, brightness, or relationships. It allows for highlighting specific modes or freely selecting any scale.
- Interactive diatonic scale exploration
- Scale playback functionality
- Multiple arrangement and view options
- Grouping by scale tones or fundamentals
- Arrangement by scale degree or brightness
- Displaying single diatonic modes
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The Mode Circle is a generalized circle of fifths that can be experienced interactively. It shows all 12x7 diatonic scales that result from the major scale by shifting the root and by choosing the initial note. The selected scale is displayed and can be played back. The Mode Circle offers different arrangements and views of the 84 scales: * Vertical grouping by same scale tones or same fundamentals. * Vertical arrangement by scale degree or brightness. * Horizontal arrangement according to fifth or semitone relationship. * Display or highlight only one diatonic mode (equivalent to major or minor circle of fifths) * or freely select any scale.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Tempus at 5.0 against Mode Circle's 4.6. Tempus also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 9 months) and review sentiment (83% vs 75%). Mode Circle's advantage is device support (5 vs 3). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Tempus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Tempus's written reviews are positive against 75% of Mode Circle's.
Tempus ships an update every 5 weeks, Mode Circle every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tempus | Mode Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better | 4.6 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marcos Kohler | Dr. Garbers Softwareentwicklung |
Customer experience
Tempus
Mode Circle
In-app purchases
Tempus
No in-app purchases
Mode Circle
No in-app purchases
